1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a system and method for manipulating the orientation and position of a human subject's head, and more particularly a system and method that allows a practitioner to rotate and position the head of a human subject in space in order to diagnose or treat the human body.
2. Description of Related Art
Many patients with brain injuries, neurodevelopmental disorders, or neurodegenerative disorders have impaired motor and cognitive capabilities. It is well evidenced that basic and complex motor and cognitive functions have direct and indirect dependencies on head, neck, and ocular movements. The vestibular and visual/ocular organs are primary sensors, which help our brain understand our spatial orientation and how to interact in our environment. The ability to measure head, neck, and eye movements and quantify deficiencies enables an opportunity to therapeutically rehabilitate these organs and improve human performance
Systems for rotating a human body for the purpose of diagnosing and treating the human vestibular system are known in the art. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,800,062, 7,559,766 and 8,702,631 all describe such systems. However, none of those systems are capable of moving or positioning the human subject's head in three dimensional space along every possible vector without limitation, while the human body is stationary. As described below in the detailed written description, the system of the present invention implements several different features and technologies that differentiate it from the prior art.